Sakura Amano's Arc

Chapter 1 of 3

Sakura climbed the fire escape, one hand on the rusted rail, the other checking her phone. Three years of tracking, and now the thing that killed her family was finally in range. The roof would give her a clean view of the coast. She could see it coming. She could be ready this time. The telescope waited where she'd left it that morning, bolted to the roof's edge. She'd hauled it up piece by piece before dawn. The coralline barrel caught the late sun, pink and blue patterns shifting across its surface. Sakura adjusted the lens, sweeping it across the horizon. There. A dark shape breaking the water, still miles out but moving steady toward the city. Her chest tightened where the ribs used to be. She pulled out her phone and marked the coordinates. The thing didn't know she'd gotten here first.